Search+ vs ChatGPT Projects
ChatGPT Projects keep related chats, files and instructions together inside ChatGPT, so you get every ChatGPT tool, such as web search and Canvas, alongside your files, and you can add spreadsheets, docs, images and links from Slack or Google Drive. Search+ does one job: it keeps your documents in a workspace and answers from them with inline citations you can open to read the excerpt. Choose ChatGPT Projects for general work that mixes files, writing and the web. Choose Search+ when the answer has to come from your documents and you want to check where each claim came from.
You can create an account without entering payment details.
At a glance
| Search+ | ChatGPT Projects | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A web app for asking questions across document workspaces, with cited answers | Folders in ChatGPT that keep chats, files and instructions together |
| Files you can add | PDF, Word and Excel files; OCR for scanned pages; up to 5 GB per file | PDFs, spreadsheets, docs, images, pasted text; Slack and Google Drive links |
| Instructions | Workspace Context, applied to every question | Project instructions that override global custom instructions |
| Tools | Cited answers in chat; no export, API or add-on tools | All ChatGPT tools, including web search and Canvas |
| Sharing | Team plan available | Project sharing, subject to plan and workspace settings |
How Search+ and ChatGPT Projects differ
ChatGPT brings the whole assistant into the project
A ChatGPT project can use web search, Canvas and the other ChatGPT tools, and answers can mix your files with general knowledge or the web. Search+ answers from the documents in your workspace and nothing else, which keeps every answer traceable to a document you uploaded.
Search+ shows the excerpt behind each citation
In Search+, answers carry inline citations, and opening one shows the supporting excerpt, with page or section references when the document provides them. Use this when you must verify a sentence before it goes into a memo or a report.
ChatGPT connects live links from other apps
ChatGPT projects take PDFs, spreadsheets, docs, images and pasted text, and can use links to Slack channels or Google Drive files as sources. Search+ takes PDF, Word and Excel files, with OCR and files up to 5 GB each, but has no integrations with Slack or Google Drive.
Both keep instructions per project
ChatGPT project instructions apply inside the project and override your global custom instructions. Search+ Workspace Context works the same way for a workspace: written once, applied to every question. The difference is what the instructions govern: a general assistant in ChatGPT, document answers in Search+.
Search+ vs ChatGPT Projects, feature by feature
Checked against public pages on October 11, 2026. "Not covered here" means the pages we checked do not say; it is not a claim that the feature is missing.
| Topic | Search+ | ChatGPT Projects |
|---|---|---|
| Files | PDF, Word and Excel files; OCR for scanned pages; up to 5 GB per file | PDFs, spreadsheets, docs, images, text |
| Citations | Inline citations; open one to read the supporting excerpt | Not covered in the help article we checked |
| Question scope | Whole workspace or one document | Project files and chats |
| Standing instructions | Workspace Context, applied to every question | Project instructions |
| Saved work | Workspaces and conversation history are saved | Projects keep chats and files |
| Sharing and teams | Team plan available | Yes, by plan and workspace settings |
| Export and outputs | No export | Save responses as project sources |
| Where it runs | Browser only | Start on one device, continue on another |
| Price | See current plans on searchplus.ai | Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business plans |
As of 2026-10-11
Sources: Projects in ChatGPT (OpenAI Help Center, Wayback capture); ChatGPT pricing (Wayback capture)
Pricing
OpenAI lists Free, Go, Plus, Pro and Business plans; the number of files you can add to a project depends on the plan. We did not capture current prices, so check chatgpt.com/pricing. For Search+ plans, see the pricing section on the Search+ homepage.
| Product | Plan | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business | See chatgpt.com/pricing | Project file limits depend on the plan |
Prices as of 2026-10
About each product
Search+
Search+ is a web app for working with documents. You create a workspace for each project, upload PDF, Word and Excel files, and ask questions across every document or narrow a question to one. Answers come with inline citations; open one to read the excerpt behind it. Workspace Context holds standing instructions that apply to every question, and workspaces and conversations are saved so you can pick up where you left off.
ChatGPT Projects
ChatGPT Projects group related chats, files and instructions inside ChatGPT. You can add PDFs, spreadsheets, docs, images or pasted text, connect links from Slack or Google Drive, set project instructions, and save useful responses back to the project as sources. Projects and project sharing depend on your plan.
Which one fits your work
Choose Search+ when
- Every answer must trace back to a PDF you uploaded
- You want to open a citation and read the excerpt before you quote it
- You keep separate workspaces for separate document projects
- You do not need web search or writing tools mixed into the answers
Choose ChatGPT Projects when
- You want to save useful answers back into the project as sources
- You want web search, Canvas and other ChatGPT tools in the same place
- Your sources live in Slack or Google Drive
- You want to share the project with others on your plan
How to try both on the same documents
- Choose a question that needs evidence from two or three PDFs.
- Add the same PDFs to a ChatGPT project and to a Search+ workspace.
- Ask both the question with the same wording.
- In Search+, open each citation and read the excerpt.
- Decide which answer you could defend if someone asked where it came from.
Questions about Search+ and ChatGPT Projects
Does ChatGPT Projects cite sources from my files?
Can I use web search with Search+?
How many files can a ChatGPT project hold?
Do both keep instructions for a project?
Sources
Recheck public pages before making a buying decision. Spotted an error? Tell us through the Search+ app and we will correct it.
Checked 2026-10-11
Answers you can trace to the page
Put your documents in a Search+ workspace and open the excerpt behind every claim.
Start a workspace